Indian wedding glossary · The functions
What is Jaggo?
Also written: Jago, ਜਾਗੋ
Jaggo is a Punjabi night celebration where relatives carry a decorated brass pot of lit lamps on their heads and dance through the neighbourhood, singing to announce the wedding.
- Who keeps it
- Punjabi Sikh and Hindu families.
- When
- The night before the wedding or two nights before, often after the mehndi.
About Jaggo
What should you know about Jaggo?
Jaggo means wake up. The family, led by the maternal aunts, dances with the gagar (pot) and sticks with bells, singing boliyan to wake the neighbours and invite them to celebrate. It usually ends with dancing back at home and a late meal.
Today many families hold the jaggo as part of the mehndi night or as its own function at a venue.
In the order of functions
Where does Jaggo come in an Indian wedding?
The night before the wedding or two nights before, often after the mehndi.
- Before the weddingFixing the match, the engagement, the date and the card.
- The functionsPujas, haldi, mehndi, sangeet and the family days before the wedding.
- Wedding day ritualsFrom the baraat to the pheras, nikah and anand karaj.
- After the weddingVidaai, the new home, the reception and the first visits.
Planning your own days? The free wedding function order planner puts your functions in a sensible order with dates.
On the card
What do families write on the invitation for Jaggo?
Jaggo night! Thursday, 12 February, 9 pm onwards. Come ready to dance till late.
Related words
Words that go with Jaggo
- Sangeet
Sangeet is the music and dance night before the wedding, where both families perform songs and dances for the couple and each other.
- Ladies sangeet
Ladies sangeet is the traditional women's gathering before a wedding, with a dholak and folk wedding songs, held at home in the days before the wedding.
- Mehndi
Mehndi is the ceremony where henna is applied to the bride's hands and feet in detailed patterns, while the women of the family sing, dance and celebrate around her.
- Chooda
Chooda is the set of red and ivory-white bangles a Punjabi bride wears from her wedding day, given by her maternal uncle at the chooda ceremony on the wedding morning.
- Anand karaj
Anand karaj, meaning blissful union, is the Sikh wedding ceremony, held in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, in which the couple walk around it four times as the four laavan are sung.
Questions
Jaggo, answered
What is Jaggo?
Jaggo is a Punjabi night celebration where relatives carry a decorated brass pot of lit lamps on their heads and dance through the neighbourhood, singing to announce the wedding.
Which families celebrate Jaggo?
Punjabi Sikh and Hindu families.
When does Jaggo happen in the order of wedding functions?
The night before the wedding or two nights before, often after the mehndi.
What do families write on the invitation for Jaggo?
Jaggo night! Thursday, 12 February, 9 pm onwards. Come ready to dance till late.
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